1000 Songs/Wonderful words of life (P. P. Bliss)

Wonderful words of life (P. P. Bliss)

1000 Songs

Text
Based on Philippians 2:15-16, lyrics found here, along with a recording of the tune, However, it is easier to hear how the lyrics fit in after you have heard it along with the words found here.

Author
Written by Philip Paul Bliss, who also wrote the tune for the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.

Music
Has a very lilting quality to it, with a great deal of "schmaltzy" harmonies. It also has a chorus, so it definitely fits into the gospel category.

Tune
Also written by Philip Bliss.

Arrangements
I could only find the main arrangement it the way that Philip intended it.

Editor's Choice
If I were to use this song in a contemporary worship setting, I would probably regulate the rhythm a little bit more to soften the lilt of the march-like mood.

Author biography
He ran away from home at the age of 11, only attended school sporadically, then became a teacher. He travelled around playing music and was very successful, but after a brief period of joining the army, he did not regain the same level of popularity. He and his wife died together when a bridge broke under their train, and their carriage caught on fire (see Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster ). Philip survived, but went back to save his wife and neither of their bodies were recovered. They were survived by their two children, who were at the ages of 2 and 4 at the time of their deaths.

Author's circumstances
written in 1874, this was most likely written shortly before his death. At this time, he may have been working with an association started with Dwight L. Moody and others and traveling as a missionary singer.